James 5:7-12

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.  You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.  As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.  But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

Truths about the future should radically impact the realities of the present.  Because we know that the Lord is returning, and we will stand before Him to give an account; we should change the way we live.  Our view of current circumstances should be radically altered by our knowledge of future promises.  Our attitudes, relationships, sufferings, and speech should all be impacted by our convictions about the return of Christ.

PATIENTLY WAIT BECAUSE OF THE COMING OF THE LORD: Living a godly life on a sin-cursed earth is not easy.  The truth is that any kind of life, godly or not, is difficult but following Christ adds the aspect of persecution and spiritual warfare to and already difficult situation.  Everyone suffers to some extent, and even though followers of Christ may suffer more; we do not suffer alone, and we do have hope.  The Lord is with us in our suffering along with the body of Christ.  However, we must always remember that our hope is not limited to this life alone.  We have an eternity free of suffering, persecution, and sin awaiting us.  Patiently waiting for the Lord’s return is an important discipline to develop.  The farming illustration is appropriate because, as we wait, we have much work to accomplish.  Waiting does not imply just standing around.  However, like farming, there are many factors out of our control, and we must learn to trust the Lord in these times.  Establishing our hearts in faith is vital to working patiently while waiting for the Lord to return.

THANKFULY LOVE BECAUSE OF THE JUDGMENT OF THE LORD: The difficulty with suffering within the body of Christ is that it can put a strain on our relationships.  Nobody likes to suffer so when it occurs, we will tend to complain and grumble.  Typically, the people who are closest to us will face the brut of our frustrations and anger.  We are called to love and support one another with gratitude for the body of Christ and not grumble against one another.  Our love for one another is vital to our mission to reach the world that is lost around us.  We will all stand before Christ one day to give an account of our faithfulness while on the earth.  We are called to make disciples in all nations.  That is the mission our Lord left us to accomplish.  This mission will involve danger and difficulty but are to persevere and work together as the body of Christ for that purpose.  Fighting within the body of Christ will only distract us from our mission and will not bode well as we stand before the Lord and our eternal rewards are determined.  Suffering within the body of Christ should promote love and unity not division and disharmony.

STEADFASTLY SUFFER BECAUSE OF THE MERCY OF THE LORD: The expectation for believers during suffering is steadfastness.  The examples of prophets and Job are to be our models to follow.  They suffered greatly because of their faithfulness and stood steadfastly through all of it.  They turned to the Lord in their suffering and found Him to be compassionate and merciful.  Pain and difficulties will cause you to either turn from the Lord or turn to the Lord.  Fear can cause us to panic and run away from the protection of the body of Christ and the loving protection afforded to us within the church.  Stand securely in the strength of the Lord and we will certainly experience his grace, power, and mercy.  Don’t allow suffering and persecution to create doubt or despair.  

HONETLY SPEAK BECAUSE OF THE CONDEMNATION OF THE LORD: Suffering can cause us to speak in ways we would not normally communicate.  Our speech should always be trustworthy.  We should not make oaths or swear by heaven or earth to make our words seem more reliable or powerful.  Our reputation should be as such that our words can simply always be trusted.  Again, our careless words will be judged by the Lord upon His return, and we don’t want to risk losing rewards because of dishonesty.  The tongue is difficult to control, but we must do so in the power of the Lord.

APPLICATION: Hope in the Lord and work for His eternal kingdom as we look forward to His return.  Love one another in unity instead of grumbling against one another in the face of difficulties.  Be steadfast and rejoice in the mercies of the Lord when we face difficult days.  Always speak the truth so that our words will be trusted.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hebrews 10:32-39

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.     For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.     Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.     For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.     For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”     But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. Endurance...
Read more

James 3:5-12

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!     And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.     For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.     With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.     From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.     Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?     Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Medications come with warning labels about negative side effects they might cause...
Read more

Hebrews 10:19-25

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.     Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.     And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. The author of Hebrews has been pointing to the superiority of Christ over every aspect of Judaism.  The reason he has been doing this is the intense persecution his readers have been facing. ...
Read more